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Neuphany
History Main article: History of Neuphany Prehistory Neuphany is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in the world. The island was populated in various waves of immigration from prehistory until recent times. The first people to settle in Neuphany during the Era of Preliturgy were likely immigrants from the Greater Yuron, but it is extremely unclear; some populations, particularly Tirahni people, have evidence of settling in Neuphany without the use of sailing vessels, which would imply some feat of unfounded transportation, some undisclosed civilization moving them here in exile, or simply originating from elsewhere. The Tirahni people eventually moved from a tribal, nomadic culture to agriculture in this time, as many civilizations had. At some time later, an unknown culture of Arpasian origin flourished on the island, spreading the hypogeum tombs known as the Primordial Dolmens. This is also when the Subrason of Petrad allegedly built the first megaliths: circular tombs, and the metallurgy of copper and silver began to develop. Closer to the First Era, the so-called Decapitus culture, coming from various parts of the Greater Yuron, appeared in Neuphany. These new people predominantly settled on the west coast, where the majority of the sites attributed to them had been found. The Decapitus culture was followed in the early Bronze Era by the cultures of modern-day Jorif. As time passed, most of the different Neuphonic populations appear to have become united in customs, yet remained politically divided into various small, tribal groupings, at times banding together, and at others waging war against each other. Habitations consisted of round thatched stone huts. Sasceri civilization At the dawn of the First Era, villages were built around round tower-fortresses called Saskens. These towers were often reinforced and enlarged with battlements. Tribal boundaries were guarded by smaller lookout Saskens erected on strategic hills commanding a view of other territories. Today, some 7,000 Saskens dot the Neuphany landscape. While initially these Saskens had a relatively simple structure, with time they became extremely complex and monumental, seen most notably in the Sasken Uram or Sasken Malor. The scale, complexity and territorial spread of these buildings attest to the level of wealth accumulated by the Sasceri people, their advances in technology and the complexity of their society, which was able to coordinate large numbers of people with different roles for the purpose of building the monumental Sasceri. The Saskens are not the only Sasceri buildings that survive, as there are several sacred wells around Neuphany and other buildings that had religious purposes such as the Giants' graves and collections of religious buildings that probably served as destinations for pilgrimage and mass religious rites, such as Sar Iridei. Neuphany was, at the time, at the center of several commercial routes and it was an important provider of raw materials such as copper and lead, which were pivotal for the manufacture of the time. By controlling the extraction of these raw materials and by commercing them with other countries, the Sasceri civilization was able to accumulate wealth and reach a level of sophistication that is not only reflected in the complexity of its surviving buildings, but also in its artworks, such as the votive bronze statuettes found across Neuphany, or the statues of Mount Bulan. According to some scholars, the Sasceri people are identifiable with the Ionians, a tribe of the "Sea Folk", but this has yet to be confirmed. The Ionians are mythical peoples for one, and if this were true, then Hellastians would have had to landed in Neuphany centuries before any evidence of their arrival. The Sasceri civilization was linked with other contemporaneous megalithic civilization of the western Tomyrian, such as the pygmies culture of the Baerisian Islands and the Tirahni civilization of Tyrrhos. Evidence of trade with the other civilizations of the time is attested by several artifacts, coming from as far as the Greater Yuron, Vostok Manda, and Tavilia and Prace have been found in Sasceri settlements, bearing witness to the scope of commercial relations between the Sasceri people and other societies at the time. Ancient history By the Second Era, the Perths began visiting Neuphany with increasing frequency, presumably initially needing safe over-night or all-weather anchorages along their trade routes from the coast of modern-day Vostok Manda as far afield as the Tavilian coast and beyond. The most common ports of call were Port Rane, Hansus, Brach, White Harbor, and Anthos. Niniven del Brach, an Eighth Era Goodfellow poet, in his poem Of Beauty and Banners, stated that Hansus was founded by people from Feyruse, probably in the same time of the foundation of Perepolis, in the latter Second Era. In the Third Era, after the conquest of Tavilia and Prace, the Perths planned to annex Neuphany. A first invasion attempt led by Hannibar was foiled by the victorious Sasceri resistance. However, from 249 NCE, the southern and west-central part of the island was invaded a second time and came under Perthic rule. In 166 NCE, taking advantage of the Perths having to face a rebellion of their mercenaries in the Mercenary War, after the First Perthic War in 184–167 NCE, Dinam annexed both Tyrrhos and Neuphany from the Perths. The two islands became known as the Ivory Provinces. They were not given a provincial governor until 140 NCE. The Dinamids faced many rebellions, and it took them many years to pacify both islands. The existing coastal cities were enlarged and embellished, and Dinamid colonies such as Dalenorum and Velsaphar were founded. These were populated by mostly Dinamid immigrants. The Dinamid military occupation brought the Sasceri civilization to an end, except for the mountainous interior of the island, which the Dinamids called Barbaria, meaning “Barbarian-Land”. Uncontested Dinamid rule in Neuphany lasted 563 years, during which time the province was an important source of grain and ivory for the capitol city of Lenorum. Dwarvish came to be the dominant spoken language during this period, though Dinamid culture was slower to take hold, and Dinamid rule was often contested by Neuphonic tribes from the mountainous regions. Falian conquest The mysterious tribe of the Falians conquered Neuphany in the latter part of the Ninth Era. Their rule lasted for about 70 years, up to CE 493, when 400 Ascani troops led by Virgis retook the island. It is known that the Falian government continued the forms of the existing Dinamid Imperial structure. The governor of Neuphany continued to be called the Prefect and apparently continued to manage military, judicial, and civil governmental functions via imperial procedures. The only Falian governor of Neuphany about whom there is substantial record is the last, Ka'ru-desh, a Fabian noble and warlord. In CE 470, a coup d'état in Perepolis removed King Tha'al, a convert to the heroic mystery surrounding Hescalus, in favor of his cousin Rormir, a worshipper of Ba'al like most of the elite in his kingdom. Ka'ru-desh was sent to take charge and ensure the loyalty of Neuphany. He did the exact opposite, declaring the island's independence from Perth and opening negotiations with Emperor Brandopol II, who had declared war on Tha'al's behalf. In CE 473, Rormir sent the bulk of his army and navy, 120 vessels and 5,000 men, to Neuphany to subdue Ka'ru-desh, with the catastrophic result that the Falian Kingdom was overwhelmed when the Ascani army under Galmes the Bloody arrived at Perepolis in their absence, rather than sail to White Harbor. The Falian Kingdom ended and Neuphany became a principality under Ascani rule. Ascani Era and the Rise of the Fiefdoms In CE 493, Neuphany returned to the rule of the Ascani Empire when the Falians were driven from the capitol by the armies of Brandopol II under the General Galmes the Bloody in the Battle of the Dry River; Galmes the Bloody sent his lieutenant Orifei to Neuphany to retake the island. Neuphany remained in Ascani hands for the next 150 years, aside from a short period in which it was invaded by the Fabians in CE 552. Under Ascani rule, the island was divided into districts called parastel in Elvish, which were governed by a magistrate residing in White Harbor and garrisoned by an army stationed in Forœ Traianel, ''today Fort Tiger, under the command of a priest. During this time, the mystery of Saclis took deeper root on the island, supplanting the other heroic mysteries which had survived into the early Mythic Ages in the culturally conservative hinterlands. Along with this, the followers of monastic figures such as Rosemary of Jorif became established in Neuphany. While this religion penetrated the majority of the population, the region of ''Barbaria, now known as Crotalusia, remained largely pagan and, probably, partially non-Dwarvish speaking. They re-established a short-lived independent domain with Neuphany heathen and religious traditions, one of its kings being Das the Short. High Pontiff Charles I wrote a letter to Das the Short defining him as the "Pontiff to Barbarians" and, swearing fealty to the Papetral states, the leader and best of his people. In this unique letter about Das the Short, the High Pontiff prompts him to convert his people who “living all like irrational animals, ignore the true God and worship wood and stone”. The dates and circumstances of the end of Ascani rule in Neuphany are not known. Direct central control was maintained at least through the Tenth Era, after which local legates were empowered in the face of the rebellion of Justidius the Red, Exarch of Feyruse and the first invasion of the Auber conquest of Vostok Manda. There is some evidence that senior Ascani administration in the Exarchate of Feyruse retreated to Hansus following the final fall of Perepolis to the Auber in CE 643. The loss of imperial control in this region led to escalating raids by Auber on the island, the first of which is documented in CE 644, forcing increased military self-reliance in the province. Communication with the central government became daunting if not impossible during and after the Auber conquest of Merovia between CE 608 and CE 642. A letter by High Pontiff Nathaniel I as early as CE 651 mentions the "Neuphonic lords", without reference to the empire and a letter by High Pontiff Waylen VII refers to them as "little princes". By the close of the Eleventh Era, the Ascani authorities no longer listed Neuphany as an imperial province, suggesting they considered it lost. In all likelihood, a local Niocletian noble family, the Mandolins, acceded to the power of Archon, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Ascani, but de facto independent. These rulers were still closely linked to the Ascani, both for a pact of ancient vassalage, and from the ideological point of view, with the use of the Elvish language, and the use of art of Ascani inspiration. In the late Eleventh Era, an attempt to conquer the island was made by Auber based in Feyruse. The only records of that war are from Pri and Cyranian records have chronicled. The Neuphonic forces won, but after that, the previous Neuphany kingdom was totally undermined and divided into nine small states: The Arbor, Arborea; The Cascades, Cascadia; The Arcade, Arcadia; The Lacquer, Laconia; The Crotales, Crotalusia; The Gauntlet, Gantelesia; The Cistern, Cisteria; The Bast, Bastria; and The Ossuary, Ossuria. Whether this final transformation from imperial civil servant to independent sovereign bodies resulted from imperial abandonment or local assertion, by the Twelfth Era, the so-called legedas ''had emerged as the autonomous rulers of Neuphany. The title of ''legedas changed with the language and local understanding of the position, becoming the Neuphonic princopol, essentially a king or sovereign, while benofeif, literally "bequeathed (territory)", came to mean "fiefdom". Early mythic Neuphonic political institutions evolved from the millennium-old Dinamid imperial structures with relatively little Merovian influence or otherwise. Although the fiefdoms were hereditary lordships, the old Ascani imperial notion that personal title or honor was separate from the state still remained, so the fiefdom was not regarded as the personal property of the monarch as was common in later feudalism. Like the imperial systems, the new order also preserved "semi-democratic" forms, with national assemblies called the Crown of the Realm. Each princopol saw to its own defense, maintained its own laws and administration, and looked after its own foreign and trading affairs. The history of the nine fiefdoms would be defined by the contest for influence between the rival rising sea powers of Cyra and Pria, and later the ambitions of the Kingdom of Darcedon. Neuphonic Fiefdoms The princopol of Cisteria, during the regency of Arturio V of Twin Rock and his successor, Leopold III, was allied with the Republic of Cyra. Because of this, it was nearly brought to an end in CE 814 when its capitol, Santa Luna, was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of other Neuphonic and Pri forces. The territory then was divided between the Republic of Pria, the Ghaerel family from Merovia, and the Neuphonic Fiefdoms of Arborea and Laconia. Pria maintained the control over the fortress of Wounded Castle, founded by Pri merchants in CE 804, east of Santa del Sol; in the south-west, the count Uriel de Ghaerel promoted the birth of the town of Ciesa to exploit the nearby rich silver deposits. Cisteria ''would later be united and reformed under Darcedon. The fiefdom ''Bastria, also called the Bast, was also allied to the Republic of Cyra and came to an end in CE 826 after the death of the princopola Delilah II, who had no heirs and no husband. The territory was divided up between Crotalusia and Laconia, with rulership being given to William III of Cyra. William III was told by Cyranian general Simon Daudalise, under instruction of the Cyranian Duke that he would be granted a title of Magistrate if he surrendered Laconia as Cyranian territory. William III, born in Cyra, relented and so forth became the magistrate of Cyranian territory in Neuphany until his death in CE 886. It was not long after that William III of Cyra sent a general, Arturio the Revenant, to conquer Gantelusia ''in an effort to incorporate the territory into ''Laconia. The only actual city in Gantelusia, Ketere, was well-fortified. Arturio the Revenant instigated conflict with Crotalusia by taking the ill-defended Onassus with his army, for a better foothold to capture Ketere. The Cyranian forces then fortified in Onassus, and were able to besiege Ketere until it fell in CE 854. The principol Hadrian IV fled to Tyrrhos. After Crotalusia mobilized against Cyranian forces, its capitol city Thintergal was annexed by Arborea in CE 859. The principol, Ephistomedes the Elder, was allowed to mostly The Cascades, or Cascadia, had its capitol Port Rane beset by a large Cyranian naval blockade. The principol Julian I was being impersonated by his regent Borius Gaestrod, and surrendered in CE 864. Though protected well by natural landforms and myths of being cursed, Ossuria collapsed in CE 870, when the last principol, Niniven Malthus, a friend of Dante Vieta, was driven out by Pri forces, who occupied the territory. The principol ''of ''Arcadia, Leonard Vespitio, successfully repelled advances from both Pri and Cyranian forces, though much of the marches of The Arcade were ceded to his neighbors. Ultimately, he would surrender to Darcedon in the last decade of the Thirteenth Era. The one unconquered fiefdom Arborea never surrendered to Pri, Cyranian, nor Darcedonian military. Its contemporary history is entwined with the attempt to unify the island into a single Neuphonic republic, a unification to defend against their relatives and former Darcedonian allies. Reign of Darcedon In CE 880, High Pontiff Bernarion IX established by a motu proprio a hypothetical Kingdom of both Neuphany and Tyrrhos. He did so in order to settle the War of the Bloody Vigil diplomatically. This had broken out in CE 875 between the Jade House of Lords and the November Brotherhood over the possession of Tavilia and Prace. Despite the existence of the indigenous states, the High Pontiff offered this newly created crown to King Alexander III, promising him support should he wish to conquer Pri Neuphany in exchange for Kasmir. In CE 885, in alliance with Arborea, and following a military campaign that lasted a year or so, the Darcedon Crown Prince Phillip II led a Darbanou army that occupied the Pri territories of Cisteria and Ossuria, the independant Arcadia, and the allied Cisterian city of Toralis, naming them "The Principalities of Neuphany and Tyrrhos". The principality was to remain a dominion of the Crown of Darcedon until the Treaty of Worms. During this period, the principol of Arborea promulgated the legal code of the principality in the "''Charter of the Land", the ''carta blanche. The Charter was originally compiled by Bonafice V of Arborea, and was amended and updated by Bonafice's daughter, principola ''Justinia of ''Arborea. The legal code was written in Common and established a whole range of citizens' rights. Among the revolutionary concepts in this Charter was the right of women to refuse marriage and to own property. In terms of civil liberties, the code made provincial Thirteenth Era Neuphany one of the most developed societies in all of the world. In CE 897, Antonio VI of Darcedon, following Darcedonian customs, granted a parliament to the Principalities of Neuphany and Tyrrhos, which was followed by some degree of self-government under a viceroy and principal independence. This parliament, however, had limited powers. It consisted of high-ranking military commanders, the clergy and the nobility. The principality of Darcedon also introduced the feudal system into the areas of Neuphany that it ruled. The mostly independent Arborea maintained its parliament, which was thereafter called the "Crown of the Realm", or the Corophant. In this parliament, apart from the nobles and military commanders, also sat the representatives of each township and village. The Corophant exercised some control over the prince; under the rule of the bannus consensus, the prince could be deposed or even executed if he did not follow the rules of the kingdom. Then was broken the alliance with the Crown of Darcedon. From CE 897 to 953, the Arborean Bonafice V, Hildern I, and Giacomo Brucci, husband of Justinia of Arborea, succeeded in occupying all of Neuphany except the heavily fortified towns of Santa del Sol and Jorif, which remain as the only Darcedonian dominions in Neuphany. In CE 953, Phillip V of Kasmir, king of Kasmir and heir to the crown of Darcedon, defeated Neuphany at the Battle of Certusa. The battle was fought by about 20,000 Neuphanian, Cyranian and Merovian knights, enrolled by their lords at a time when the population of Neuphany had been greatly depleted by the plague. Despite the Neuphonic army outnumbering the Darcedonian army, they were defeated. The parliament of Arborea disappeared in CE 953, when its rights were sold by the last king for 100,000 gold florins, and after some of its most notable men switched sides in exchange for privileges. For example, Alfonse di Grassi, with some claim to the crown being from a family related to the Lord of Arborea, was granted the title of Exarch of Duessel and feudal rights on a territory that partly overlapped with the original extension of the Fiefdom of Arborea in exchange for his subjection to the Darcedonian monarchs. The conquest of Neuphany by the Crown Prince of Darcedon meant the introduction of the feudal system throughout Neuphany. Thus, Neuphany is probably the only country where feudalism was introduced in the transition period from the Mythic Ages to the Modern Age, at a time when feudalism had already been abandoned by most of the world. Thereafter and into the Modern Age, the Principality of Neuphany was divided into seven smaller fiefdoms: The Arbor, Arborea; The Cascades, Cascadia; The Arcade, Arcadia; The Lacquer, Laconia; The Crotales, Crotalusia; The Gauntlet, Gantelesia; and The Cistern, Cisteria. ''Notably, ''Bastria ''and ''Ossuria were not reincorporated as fiefdoms, having their land divided between the other territories. In addition, Arcadia was moved further south and its previous lands were divided between more northern fiefdoms. Modern Age With the world approaching the Fourteenth Era, the mysterious Astral Plague, academically known as piaga del luna, began to spread and ravage the Greater Yuron and beyond, driving a significant number of nobles, artists, and scholars into Neuphany. In CE 984, the King of Darcedon Roland the Niocletian himself traveled to Neuphany. Darcedon had mostly been wiped out by the Astral Plague, and thus no further vessels were permitted to dock in the harbors of either province. With all communications with the Greater Yuron, particularly Darcedon, ceasing by CE 985, Neuphany was once again relatively independent, with the regalia Corophant still in the hands of Arboria. King Roland, displeased, attempted to organize the loose alliance of fiefdoms that made up Duessel who were still bound to Darcedon both in explicit charter and by heritage. However, he disappeared while in White Harbor, leading to Duessel declaring war on Arborea, as well as the fiefdoms Arcadia and Cisteria ''which compose what is known as the Triumvirate. The fiefdoms of ''Cascadia ''and the two fiefdoms of Tyrrhos are thus far neutral in this conflict, the War of the Lost King. The migrants who traveled to Neuphany and Tyrrhos took great interest in the local arts and artifacts, and the thriving culture and learning of the principalities. This has led into a rebirth of knowledge and artistry in modern day, and many contemporary authors has documented this as the dawn of the so-called "Modern Age". Geography Neuphany is the largest island in the Tomyrian Sea, with an area of 10,305 sq mi. To the west of Neuphany is the Ivory Sea, a unit of the Tomyrian Sea and a sliver between Neuphany and the Astoric Ocean; to Neuphany's east is the Arpasian Sea, which is also an element of the Tomyrian Sea. The nearest land masses are, by proximity, the island of Tyrrhos, the Baerisian Islands, the Greater Yuron, Vostok Manda, and Tavilia and Prace. Neuphany is a mere six miles from Tyrrhos at their closest points, and is almost 1,200 miles to the Greater Yuron. The Arpasian Sea portion of the Tomyrian Sea is directly to the east of Neuphany between the Neuphonic east coast and the west coast of the Greater Yuron. The Strait of Eurastus is directly south of Neuphany and separates Neuphany from Tyrrhos. The coasts of Neuphany are 1,389 miles long, and are generally high and rocky, with long, relatively straight stretches of coastline, many outstanding headlands, a few wide, deep bays, and many inlets with various smaller islands off the coast. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike the Greater Yuron, is not earthquake-prone. Its rocks date 500 million years old. Due to long erosion processes, the island's highlands, formed of granite, schist, trachyte, basalt, sandstone and dolomite limestone average at between 900 to 3,300 feet. The highest peak is the Strangled Point at 7,007 ft, part of the Choking Peaks in the center of the island. Other mountain chains are Mount Bulan at 4,469 ft in the northeast; the Chain of Manilusa and Sindanaro at 4,131 ft, running crosswise for 25 miles towards the north; South Point at 3,468 ft, among the Long Heavens in the southeast; and Point Joy at 4,055 ft, in the New Princes. The island's ranges and plateaus are separated by wide alluvial valleys and flatlands, the main ones being Castille in the southwest, between Coppercrown and Pelshard, and the Derrings in the northwest. Neuphany has few major rivers, the largest being the Dancers, 94 mi long, which flows into the Ivory Sea; the Stormrun at 52 mi, and the Lasars at 66 mi. There are 54 lakes that supply water and food. The main ones are the Lake of Thorns and Lake Hegglar. The only natural freshwater lake is the Alabastron. A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the coastline. Climate The climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation. It can be classified in two different macrobioclimates, which are sea and ocean temperate coastal climates. During the year there is a major concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring and snowfalls in the highlands. The average temperature is between 52 to 63 °F, with mild winters and hot summers on the coasts, 48 to 52 °F in January and 73 to 79 °F in July, and cold winters and cool summers on the mountains, 28 to 39 °Fin January and 61 to 68 °F in July. Rainfall engulfs the island sporadically, with almost totally rainless summers and wet autumns, winters and springs. However, in summer, the rare rainfalls can be characterized by short but severe thunderstorms, which can cause flash floods. The climate is also heavily influenced by the vicinity of the Naked Gulf and the relative proximity of the Astoric Ocean. Low pressures in autumn can generate the formation of the so-called ''Scythes, extratropical cyclones which affect the Tomyrian basin. In CE 989, the island was hit by several cyclones, included the Great Cyclone, which dumped almost 18 inches of rainfall within an hour and a half. Neuphany being relatively large and hilly, weather is not uniform; in particular the East is drier, but paradoxically it suffers the worst rainstorms. In autumn of CE 965, it rained more than 8 in in a single day in Certusa, and all across Neuphany, multiple cities reported to have received more than 17 in of rainfall within two hours. The western coast has a higher distribution of rainfalls even for modest elevations. The driest part of the island is the coast of Broken Gulf, with less than 18 in per year, the minimum is at High Horn, at the extreme south-east of the island, 16 in. The wettest is the top of the Mountain of Mountains, with almost 59 in per year. The average for the entire island is about 33 per year, which is more than enough for the needs of the population and vegetation. The Magistral Winds from the northwest is the dominant wind, on and off throughout the year, though it is most prevalent in winter and spring. It can blow gale force winds, but it is usually dry and cool.